Wrench



June 2 2, 1943. R 5TE|NAHER 2,322,550

WRENCH Filed NOV. 12, 1942 lll/11111111.

www ATTORNEY Patented June 22, 1943 "2 Claims.

"Thegeneral objectof the present invention is ntoprovidefasliding jawwrench of improved construction. More specifically, the object fof theinvention is to provide a sliding jaw wrenchof lrelatively 'simple andinexpensive construction and comprising threaded jaw adjustingprovisions lcharacterized by their capacity yfor easily and 4positivelyAeffecting rapid jaw adjustments.

The various features of novelty which characterize my invention arepointed out with par- -ticularity in the claims annexed to and forming apart of this specication. Fora better under- Astanding of the invention,however, its advantages,and specic objects attained with-its use,reference Ashould -be had to the accompanying drawing anddescriptivematter in which I have illustratedand described a preferredembodiment of the invention.

Of the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a-sidey elevation of a wrench, partly in L section on the lineI-l of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a section on the broken lineof 2-"2 of Fig. 1;*and

Fig. 3 is-a section on the line 3-3 of Figl.

My improved wrench in the preferred form il- 5'" lustratedin thedrawings, includes an elongated Vhandle member or shaft Awhich'terminates at one end in an enlarged head. The latter corn `prisesa stationary jaw Band is formed `with a 'transverse slot C into whichthe shank D ofthe :2; Vmovable jaw Eof the wrench'extends.

grooves C in the inner sidewalls of the slot C form a guide-way for theshank D which Vis :formed at its opposite sides with ribs extending intoand movable longitudinally of said grooves.

The juxtaposed work engaging faces b and e of the vstationary'andmovable wrench jaws B and E respectively, are shown as plane surfacesinclined to the longitudinal direction of the handle A at an angle whichmay be and as shown is a 30 angle. The guide-Way grooves C are perpendicular to said surfaces and are shown as round- Aed and the ribs of theshank D received in Asaid grooves are similarly rounded and form theopposite sides of the wall of 4a Spring chamber D' Parallel of theshankD forming an abutment wall .which closes the end of the passage Dremotefrom the StatiOnaryjaw B.

The edge D2 of the shank D at the opposite side of thelatter from thejaw E, is substantially perpendicular to `the longitudinal direction `ofthe handle, and is normally engaged bythe parallel edge of a plate-likeshank portion H of a nut thebody portion of which is received in a slotI `formed in the wrench handle and extending longitudinally of thelatter. The slot I isopen at the head end of the wrench to the slot CWhich forms an abutment guide-way for the shank portion H of an abutmentnut H. vThe latter is adjustable longitudinally of said slot, and theeffect of such adjustment is tova-ry the distance between the workengaging jaw surfaces b and e. The nut I is prevented'from rotatingabout its axis by the engagement ofthe flat sides of its shank H withthe side walls'of the slot C.

The longitudinal adjustment of the abutment nut VH in the slot I iselfected by the rotation of an abutment shaft or strut J mounted in thehandle slot I and having a threaded endjpart J `extending into, and inthreaded engagement with the adjusting nut H. In the preferredYconstruction illustrated, the abutment strut J has at its end-remotefrom the nut H, a threaded end part J2 which extends into and is in`threaded engagement with a second abutment nut K. The latter is shownas formed separately fromthe part A, and having its body portionreceived in the s1ot I and formed with bifurcations K which straddle theportion of the member A at the corresponding end of the slot I, and aresecured thereto by a pin or rivet L.

The end parts J and J2 are oppositely threaded, so that they screw intothe nuts H and K, respectively, when the abutment rod is rotated in onedirection, and are retracted by a reverse rotation of the strut J. Whenthe two parts J' and J2 have the same thread pitch, the longitudinaladjustment of the nut H effected by a given rotative adjustment of therod J, is twice as great as it would be if the latter were mounted inthe wrench handle part A for rotative movement without longitudinaladjustment.

AIn thepreferred construction shown, the body portion of the strut J isshaped externally tov provide a coarse pitch threadin operativeengagement .with anut N rigidly secured in a tubular member Msurrounding the strut J. The member M is movable longitudinally of theslot I and is formed with opposite at sides, parallel to and cooperatingwith side edges of the slot I to prevent rotative movement of the memberM and nut N as they are moved longitudinally of the slot. i

The pitch of the threaded connection between each of the nuts H and Kand the corresponding end of the adjusting strut J should be fine enoughto be self-locking, so that reaction forces between the wrenchrand thework tending to spread the jaws B and E apart will not give rotativemovement to the strut J. The threaded connection between the member Jand nut N, however, has a thread pitch coarse enough to permit themember J to Vbe readily rotated by movement of the nut N longitudinallyof the slot I.

With the guide-way for the shank D of the movable jaw D inclined to thelongitudinal direction of the handle as described, the axial adjustmentof the nut H in one direction will cam the removable jaw F toward thestationary jaw B, and the movement of theV nut in the opposite directionwill permit the jaw E to move away from the jaw B under the action ofthe spring G.

With properly formed wrench parts shaped and arranged as described,wrenchfadjustments can be effected readily and rapidly andwithoutrequiring the application of lubricating oil to any portion of thewrench. In consequence of the operation without lubrication, and themanner in which the spring G is enclosed and the small exposure ofthreads by which the strut J is connected to the abutment nuts H and K,there is Vlittle opportunity for dirt to interfere with the andrelatively inexpensive heat treatment.

The strut member J may well be formed with A a body portion which isinitially square in crosssection and is threaded by a twisting action inwhich one end of the strut is rotated about the strut axis relative tothe other end of the strut. The end portions J and J2 of the rod J maywell have their threads formed by a thread rolling action of known type.K may also be externally shapedby die press action.

While in accordance with the provisions of the statutes, I haveillustrated and described the best form of embodiment of my inventionnow known to me, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatchanges may be made in the form of the apparatus disclosed withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the appendedclaims, and that in some cases certain features of my invention may beused to advantage without a corresponding use of K other features.

Having now described my invention what I claim as new, and desiretosecure by Letters Patent is:

' 1. In a sliding jaw wrench, the combination of a handle member havingat one end an enlarged head portion which includes a jaw and istransversely slotted to provide jaw and abut- Thernut members I-I and`ment guideways respectively inclined and parallel to the longitudinaldirection of said member, a sliding jaw having a shank received in, andmovable longitudinally of, said jaw guideway, a spring acting betweensaid member and sliding jaw and tending to spread said jaws apart, a nutreceived and longitudinally movable in said abutment guideway andengaging said sliding jaw and holding the latter against movel ment awayfrom said stationary jaw, a strut mounted in said handle member forrotation about an axis extending longitudinally of the handle member andhaving one end in threaded engagement with said nut and having its otherend in oppositely threaded engagement with said member and means torotate said strut whereby on its rotation it will simultaneously adjustitself relatively to said member and relative to said nut and by each ofsaid relative adjustments cam said sliding jaw toward said stationaryjaw or to permit it to move away from said stationary jaw under theaction of said spring, depending on the direction of rotation of saidstrut.

2. In a sliding jaw wrench, the combination of a member comprising anelongated handle portion and an enlarged head portion at one end of saidhandle portion, said handle portion comprising a jaw and being slottedto provide a guideway inclined vto the longitudinal direction of saidhandle portion and an extension of said inclined guideway in the form ofa narrow slot having parallel side Walls separated by a distance lessthan the distance between the corresponding sides of said guideway, saidmember being also formed with an elongated slot in and eX- tendinglongitudinally of said handle portion away from said head portion andintersecting said narrow slot and having its side walls transverse tothe irst mentioned side walls and separated from one another by adistance substantially greater than the first mentioned distance, asliding jaw having a shankcomprising a portion fitting in and movablelongitudinally. of said guideway and a narrower portion extending intothe said narrow slot and having its edge adjacent said .handle portionat right angles to the longitudinal direction oi the latter, a springacting between said inernber and sliding jaw and tending to spread saidjaws apart, an abutment member mounted in and longitudinally movable insaid elongated slot and reduced in thickness at one end to form aflattened shank portion which extends into said narrow slot and is of awidth greater than the distance between the side '.walls of said narrowslot and has its end edge in abutting engagement with the firstmentioned edge, said abutment being also formed with an internallythreaded socket open at its opposite end, and a coarse pitch strutmounted in said elongated slot for rotation about an axis extendinglongitudinally of said handle portion and in threaded engagement withsaid abutment member, and an actuating nut in threaded engagement withsaid coarse pitch threads and slidable longitudinally with respect tosaid handle portion, and adapted on rotation of the strut to cam themovable jaw member toward said stationary jaw or to permit it to moveaway from said stationary jaw under the action of said` springaccordingly as said strut is rotated in one direction or the other.RUDOLPH STEINACHER.`

